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THE FRENCH MINISTER is a new comedy set within France's corridors of powerTHE FRENCH MINISTER is the new film by veteran French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier, whose 1980 A Week’s Vacation was the first movie ever presented by the Cinematheque. (back in 1985). The movie is a biting and buoyant political comedy about a handsome, arrogant, and (thankfully) fictional French Minister of Foreign Affairs (Thierry Lhermitte) who is continually setting fires around the world that his beleaguered staff –and new speechwriter—must put out. Variety hails it as "a sparkling and savvy comedy," calling it "spry, pleasingly funny.” Catch its exclusive Cleveland theatrical premiere on Friday or Saturday. Here's the trailer.

Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier star in 1961 Left Bank jazz classic PARIS BLUESNever released on DVD or Blu-ray in the U.S., Martin Ritt's 1961 jazz film classic PARIS BLUES stars Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier as American musicians in Left Bank Paris who fall for tourists Joanne Woodward and Diahann Carroll. Louis Armstrong also appears and Duke Ellington composed the score. See it in 35mm on Thursday or Saturday when it closes our JazzFilmFest.

A playboy and a law student take a summer joy ride to remember in 1962 Italian comedy IL SORPASSO (THE EASY LIFE) Dino Risi's 1962 Italian comedy IL SORPASSO (THE EASY LIFE) is one of the great examples of Commedia all'italiana. A brash, middle-aged playboy (Vittorio Gassman) takes an uptight young law student (Jean-Louis Trintignant) on a two-day, top-down, summer joy ride in his sports car. They speed along the Italian coast, ogling girls and having a series of carefree adventures. Set during Italy's postwar economic boom, this masterpiece (a favorite of both Martin Scorsese and Alexander Payne) is perhaps the first modern-day road movie. Since it's long been out of U.S. release, don't miss the new digital restoration we will present on Thursday and Saturday.

Two docs about Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge show in rare double featureOn Friday night we present a rare, true double feature -- meaning you can see both movies for the price of one ticket! The two films are new documentaries that recall the crimes and casualties resulting from Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. THE MISSING PICTURE (top image above) was one of this year’s five Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. It's a unique autobiography in which Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh employs painted, miniature clay figurines to re-create a genocide that was never documented on film—specifically the atrocities visited upon his own family by Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge minions during the nightmarish 1970s. This remarkable movie has a 99% “fresh” rating on RottenTomatoes.com. It will be followed by GOLDEN SLUMBERS, Davy Chou's poetic remembrance of Cambodian cinema, which shone brightly from 1960 to 1975 with more than 400 productions. Unfortunately the Khmer Rouge regime destroyed almost every one of the movies and executed most of the country’s creative community. See both of these films starting Friday at 7:30 pm for only $10; members and CIA I.D. holders $8; age 25 & under $7. (No passes, twofers, or radio winners will be accepted.) Or print this email and present it at the box office and pay only $8 ($7 if you're a Cinematheque member). It's our Deal of the Week! (Limit two discount admissions per print-out) Watch the trailer for The Missing Picture here and the trailer for Golden Slumbers here.